Rain collector barrels (Upcoming patch)

[kaf]

According to the devs, the water barrels gonna be changed a bit soon, so I was wondering what does the community think about the upcoming changes.

 

"Rain collector change : You now need to be carpentry lvl 2 to build a small rain collector, and then lvl 4 to build the big one (the current one). You also need garbage bags to build them now."

 

 

IMHO at the moment rain collectors are too easy to build, and having 1 or 2 early on, basically solves all your problems (i.e. thirst + water for farming), so I agree that this issue has to be addressed.

 

However, considering the skill leveling system, building barrels after the patch would also involve building lots of other completely unnecessary stuff in order to level up carpentry.

 

I really don't like the idea of power-leveling certain skills in order to survive long term; and IMHO this change could wait until/unless an alternative to water collectors is introduced.

 

In the link there's a nice thread about water barrel alternatives like garbage cans and bathtubs, and the reasons why "putting pots and stuff outside to collect water" isn't an option.

 

http://theindiestone.com/forums/index.php/topic/2102-please-remove-barrels/ 

[MisterRice]

I agree. In my time playing I haven't found one fire axe so I can't even get wood let alone level up carpentry. If a new player lucks out and lasts long enough to get to the "farming phase" then there should be some smaller less convenient way to collect water. Maybe implementing a recipe for a water collector at level 0 that requires planks and a plastic bag (not garbage bag) could be added? I'm not great when it comes to suggesting things :/

 

TLDR: +1

[EreWeGo]

...However, considering the skill leveling system, building barrels after the patch would also involve building lots of other completely unnecessary stuff in order to level up carpentry...

Actually, you can just saw logs to level up carpentry if you don't want to build things.

 

I agree there needs to be another way to collect water. Making water barrels harder to build, have higher skill requirements is fine by me, mainly because at the moment, once you do have one or two, water just isn't an issue anymore. There needs to be a trade-off for the effort it takes, maybe barrels could store water longer, or just hold more water than other options...

 

Speaking of other options, the a wheelie bin+duct tape+garbage bag might work - (just a garbage bag + wheelie bin would be too easy to find/craft?) As a trade-off, maybe water goes stagnant quicker, holds less, or has a limited life-span?

[lordixi]

In my second game in PZ, when I knew nothing about rain barrels, I tried that thing: I took cooking pots, some empty mugs, bowls and put them outside the house. Just put them on grass. I hoped that they will be filled by rain, but they don't. It would be nice "another" realistic way of getting water.

[imortalz]

acutally the fastest way to lvl is just to baricade 1 plank and unbaricade it. give u 8xp each time

[Thanatospa]

I agree. In my time playing I haven't found one fire axe so I can't even get wood let alone level up carpentry. If a new player lucks out and lasts long enough to get to the "farming phase" then there should be some smaller less convenient way to collect water. Maybe implementing a recipe for a water collector at level 0 that requires planks and a plastic bag (not garbage bag) could be added? I'm not great when it comes to suggesting things :/

 

TLDR: +1

You dont need an axe to get wood. I have "cut" down trees with a bat, kitchen knife, hammer....pretty much everything I can equip. also most of those work for breaking doors.

[Connall]

Yeah I'm fine with the upgrade in skill for the Rainbarrels, as EreWeGo says at the moment it's a bit too easy too solve the problem of water, when really it should be a bit of a bigger problem. Hopefully when NPC's are re-introduced the troubles of water will be bigger, since more than one person will be consuming water.

[Tooks]

Carpentry 1 doesnt take too long to get too. We don't know how ineffecient the small barrels are yet.

[Raekluder]

Sounds fair. Currently 8 days into my current game and i have over 10 barrels just for good measure. Could go with a nerf indeed.

[RedKrypton]

I was one of the guys, which let there voice be heared, to finally stop the nonsense with overpowered barrels!

So I approve.

[Suomiboi]

I also think that the rainbarrels were way too overpowered. If you're worried about how you'll survive without them. Good. That's how it's supposed to be. Before rainbarrels there were only the two places with wells that could maintain your need of water for long periods of time. You can still use those if you don't want to be a carpenter. Also stockpiling water should be essential for survival.

 

As time goes by I think we'll be able to take water from the Ohio river, small ponds and lakes and then boil the water to a drinkable state. This would also add to the experience because it would make you go for runs for water.

[stormsson]

In my second game in PZ, when I knew nothing about rain barrels, I tried that thing: I took cooking pots, some empty mugs, bowls and put them outside the house. Just put them on grass. I hoped that they will be filled by rain, but they don't. It would be nice "another" realistic way of getting water.

i was just thinking about this exact thought...

but i think it would be quite hard to implement: you should be able to cycle all items in the ground whose are fillable ,and fill them... i don't think it's easy at all

 

 

btw: about rain barrels, i don't know: are plastic bag a common item? i never found one, neither i did know those existed...

 

Actually to build a rain container it's quite easy, i don't know if carpentry 4 is adequate... it seems a bit far away,let's say...

[Suomiboi]

 

In my second game in PZ, when I knew nothing about rain barrels, I tried that thing: I took cooking pots, some empty mugs, bowls and put them outside the house. Just put them on grass. I hoped that they will be filled by rain, but they don't. It would be nice "another" realistic way of getting water.

i was just thinking about this exact thought...

but i think it would be quite hard to implement: you should be able to cycle all items in the ground whose are fillable ,and fill them... i don't think it's easy at all

 

 

btw: about rain barrels, i don't know: are plastic bag a common item? i never found one, neither i did know those existed...

 

Actually to build a rain container it's quite easy, i don't know if carpentry 4 is adequate... it seems a bit far away,let's say...

 

Do you know how to build a water tight wooden barrell? Not many people can. Now using already existing containers is very much plausible, but I remember RJ saying it would be quite a process at this point to make the new sprites and coding to implement them.

 

You haven't probably found the bags yet because they're not implemented yet.

 

I think the rain amount that gets in the barrels is a bit OP too actually. Because atm you need maybe two decent rainfalls and the barrel is full. Whil if you look at the average rainfall in Muldraugh it's somewhere between 3 and 6 inches a month. Now if your water barrel would be about 30-40 inches tall it'd take an average of 6 to 8 months to fill up a barrel. Now I think that's overly realistic but there should be a middle ground between 2-5 days and 6 months imo. Point being it's not that easy to gather water from rainfall as many here seem to think.

[American Steel]

 

 

In my second game in PZ, when I knew nothing about rain barrels, I tried that thing: I took cooking pots, some empty mugs, bowls and put them outside the house. Just put them on grass. I hoped that they will be filled by rain, but they don't. It would be nice "another" realistic way of getting water.

i was just thinking about this exact thought...

but i think it would be quite hard to implement: you should be able to cycle all items in the ground whose are fillable ,and fill them... i don't think it's easy at all

 

 

btw: about rain barrels, i don't know: are plastic bag a common item? i never found one, neither i did know those existed...

 

Actually to build a rain container it's quite easy, i don't know if carpentry 4 is adequate... it seems a bit far away,let's say...

 

Do you know how to build a water tight wooden barrell? Not many people can. Now using already existing containers is very much plausible, but I remember RJ saying it would be quite a process at this point to make the new sprites and coding to implement them.

 

You haven't probably found the bags yet because they're not implemented yet.

 

I think the rain amount that gets in the barrels is a bit OP too actually. Because atm you need maybe two decent rainfalls and the barrel is full. Whil if you look at the average rainfall in Muldraugh it's somewhere between 3 and 6 inches a month. Now if your water barrel would be about 30-40 inches tall it'd take an average of 6 to 8 months to fill up a barrel. Now I think that's overly realistic but there should be a middle ground between 2-5 days and 6 months imo. Point being it's not that easy to gather water from rainfall as many here seem to think.

 

 

What is the volume of water that runs off a 1,000 square foot roof during a 1" rain storm?  About 623 gallons.

 

I dont think the rain barrel is the problem, I think the method of collecting the water is.  A barrell sitting all on its lonesome with a 2' hole is not to go garner much of anything.  The answer is a sloped surface coming with a downspot or some other method to direct what you catch.  I can dig a shallow trench, cover it with visqueen and garner a lot of water with no carpentry skills.  Put a bucket in the center and bingo.  If they devs created additional mechanics to gather the water, the the problem would be reduced.  Howver, something as simple as 4 poles, a ceiling to create more surface area is not a huge thing either.

 

Also, now that we have a large supply of water... what about ensuring it does not go bad or does not make you sick.  Rain water may be clean, but its running off the roof of a house... I mean birds do what?!  Stuff blowing in the wind?!  While using non-potable water to water crops or bathe is one thing, drinking it is something else.  Bleach and cooking (or boiling) are both exist in the game.  If the devs made the water non-potable, and we had a few potable mechanics, it would add an additional step.  We would then need a potable container to put the water into.  Now we have created the need for a few more barrels only for the purpose of storing the water indoors... or at the very least outdoor with a "barrel lid".

 

You have a system that requires more materials to gather water in larger volumes.  You then need to transport it, clean it and then put it into a potable container.  That not only increases your need for containers, but also materials (pots + bleach or fire) and time.

[kaf]

As time goes by I think we'll be able to take water from the Ohio river, small ponds and lakes and then boil the water to a drinkable state.

Sounds great. This can be a good long-term alternative to carpentry.

 

 

acutally the fastest way to lvl is just to baricade 1 plank and unbaricade it. give u 8xp each time

Gonna keep that in mind. Thanks! Though its exactly the kind of skill powerleveling that I was initially referring to: i.e. mindless activity that serves no real purpose other than leveling skill and is killing the immersion aspect of the game (turning it into something more like Ultima or WoW)

 

Imho, if in real life a person is trying to solve a practical problem (e.g. "I need water and I cant walk all the way to Ohio river") then he/she would apply all the efforts to solve it in the most direct/easy way (e.g. building a rain collector box/barrel outside the safehouse etc) , however being forced to barricade/unbarricade your window 100 times before you can do that is not an answer (just my opinion)

 

Personally I see 2 possible (and rather elegant xD) solutions to this:

- Reducing/removing the level requirement for the barrels and instead, making low level creations more likely to leak or break when full etc

or

- Allowing the first carpentry book to actually level up your skill as to avoid the initial powerleveling stage.